The Power of Words

24 AUG 2018

When a teacher says the word "Test", students clench up and get anxious. Even the best students fall prey to this. Educators have tried to get around 'test anxiety' in a few different ways, such as calling them exams, assessments, or analytical tools, but these semantic workarounds do not 'work'. Today in class though, something truly extraordinary happened. 

One thing I do as a teacher to allay student fears about approaching tests (shhh, don't say the T word!) is to warn the students several days in advance. I warn them a test is approaching, like a Hurricane spotted on the horizon. Look, yonder to the west, It's Hurricane Assessment! And then I make sure they know what will be tested and I remind them as the day approaches. I usually work through sample test problems too, going over the material multiple times in multiple ways.

So, back to today. Today is Friday, a day when tests are given in class. I hate to give tests on Monday. It literally takes an appearance by the Almighty Teaching Gods for me to schedule a Monday test. They must descend from on high and force my hand. But today was a Friday and thus fair game for testing.

I warned my students on Wednesday. "Hey, you're going to have an exam on Friday. This is what it will cover." I went over the material on the test on Wednesday, Thursday, and even discussed it with the parents that came on Back to School Night that Thursday night. This was to be a writing assessment, covering ancient cultures. Wait, that sounds too rough. Assignment. Yes, that's much better. Writing assignment sounds so much better than test, doesn't it? 

So today was the day. I got them started, even put a big timer on the board. Every single student got straight to work. It was magical. Here's the funny part. Halfway through the assessment, um, sorry, assignment, one of my students, out of the blue and in the middle of furiously working away on the assignment, says, "Hey, aren't we supposed to be taking a test today?" 

Her neighbor looked over at her like she had just grown a third eyeball in the middle of her forehead. 

The first student realized her misunderstanding a moment later and blushed a deep red as I stared at her in confusion. My expression translated as, "What do you think you've been doing for the last twenty minutes?!" 

She started laughing so hard she actually started crying. 

I tried not to laugh, my body shaking in mirth while I hid my face behind a piece of paper. The power of words indeed. I had taken the mighty anxiety-producing 'test' and turned it into an assignment that the students ate up as a chance to prove themselves, not a barrier standing in their way but a challenge to be triumphed over with hard work and determination. If I had called it a test I would have had students moaning and groaning like extras for The Walking Dead. By calling it a writing assignment, I had students cheerfully typing away for a straight 50 minutes without one complaint. My students had spent the period working away on a 'test' without so much as a frown. Nice!

The power of words...something to think about when writing...

Picture for today: 

Working on

12 AUG 2018

Traveling seems to be the theme for today. "So come along boys (and girls) and listen to my tale..."

I'm back at my main gig, so there's more traveling there as I drive to and from work. Had to fill up the old gas tank. That was more painful than usual. Hadn't filled up in a few months and the price of gas was up, though not as much as back in California from what I hear. 

Then as I surveyed work stuff I stumbled across a few things I did not know. Traveling fits in here as well for I was researching the Chisholm Trail. For those that don't know, listen to the song here by Woody Guthrie and get your cowboy on. One thing I learned was the word Buckaroo is supposed to be a corruption of the Spanish word Vaquero. It's interesting to see what comes from the pairing of two languages. The list below details some of the English/Spanish crossovers in and around Texas and Kansas. It's from educational material available here: 

Bandanna (Bandana) – cheap scarf printed with bright red dye used to protect the cowboy’s face from sun, wind, and dust. 

Bronco – an untrained horse; means “wild” in Spanish 

Buckaroo (Vaquero) – another name for cowboy 

Cinch (Cincha) – a wide strap used to hold the saddle on a horse 

Chaps (Chaparreras) – Leg coverings worn by cowboys to protect them from rough brush and keep them warm in cold weather 

Corral – fenced area for horses, cattle, and other animals; means “playpen” in Spanish 

Lariat (La Riata) – cowboy’s rope; also known as a lasso 

Ranch (Rancha) – a farm for horses, cattle, and other livestock 

Stampede (Estampida) – horses and cattle run after getting scared 

Stirrup (El Estribo) – a foot rest on the saddle 

Spur (La Espeula) – metal wheel worn on the back of the boot to get horses to run faster 

Outlaw – name for a criminal during the 1800s. Literally means someone outside the law, not just a criminal. 

Revolver – a pistol holding several shots in a revolving chamber; means “to spin” in Spanish 

Rodeo – a competition of cowboy skills; means “cattle market” in Spanish

In writing, I'm working on a piece about a pretty 'bright' guy exploring an unknown area, unknown at least to him, and the native gal who just happens along and tries to keep him from getting killed. Fair bit of traveling in the story so far, well, running and chasing actually, but they do cover some serious ground. The quotes up there are an inside joke, and if you've read the shared piece posted so far you'll get my meaning.

Lastly, at least for this Sunday morning, The National Book Festival is coming up September 1st. There is a wonderful poster done for this year by a great artist. And wouldn't you know it, but there is someone traveling on the poster! Now the only thing I need to make this day perfect is a picture of a cowboy in a hot air balloon! "Come a yi-yi-yippee come a yi-yi-yay..."


The picture for today is from the poster for the 2018 National Book Festival. An additional picture by the same artist is below. 

The poster above was created for the 2018 National Book Festival by illustrator Gaby D'Alessandro. She is a Dominican illustrator based in New York City. She studied Fine Art and Illustration at Altos de Chavón and was awarded a scholarship to Parsons School of Design, where she received a BFA in Illustration. Her clients include The American Museum of Natural History, The New York Times, NPR, Smithsonian Magazine, The National Audubon Society and The Botanical Garden of Padua. Her work has been recognized by American Illustration, Communication Arts, 3x3 Magazine and Latin American Ilustración.

National Book Festival(full poster can be found here)

This picture actually inspired me to start work on a picture of my youngest daughter, who loves the stars. It's really rough, but you get the idea. Can't wait to see what she does with her future.

Tension: Guest Blog by David Owens

04 August 2018

For this post I am turning over the reins to David Owens, an eagle-eyed editor, friend, and all-round good guy. Take it away, Dave...

Tension

When someone asks me, “what makes a good story?” I answer, “tension.”

Why is tension so important to story development? Tension is the “binder,” the element that glues the reader to the story. Tension is energy. No amount of excellent writing can overcome the lack of tension in a story.

What is tension? Tension can be many things. Perhaps a character worries about losing a loved one, or perhaps tension is the threat of a hidden mine on a battlefield. In another story the character might be forced to overcome insurmountable difficulties. Tension must exist consistently and continuously in a story.

Tension is the writer’s promise and the reader’s reward.

Tension in narrative and dialogue holds readers attention.  When a writer masterfully integrates tension into a story, the tension moves the narrative forward, but tension in dialogue is the trick most fiction writers use.  Compelling conflict is the solution. Readers love conflict, any kind of conflict, and may abandon a story the moment conflict vanishes (when it becomes a boring story). The level of conflict is unimportant, except in action scenes where conflict rages through the use of short language bursts in the narrative, and snappy dialogue. The writer’s job is to creatively integrate moments of tension throughout the work. Anything else comes across bland and unsatisfying.

Ask yourself the question, “Why do I read?” Well, why DO you read? Is it because the writer describes beautiful scenes, or is it because you search for an answer? Now ask yourself what is the question a story must answer. Now you’ve found it! Yes, tension must be the reader’s constant companion in a story. Tension grips readers and holds them until the end of the story. Readers search for an answer to the question: “What happens to the main character?”

Examine your favorite story. If the story contained sufficient tension, you finished reading and discovered you lost track of time. You became so immersed in the story time became unimportant. You found yourself on another world, in another time, in an exotic setting, but behind those settings, tension’s unrelenting power controlled you. Control tension by the use of active verbs, strong adjectives, and leave out the weak adverbs. Avoid common, and simple verbs. Show don’t Tell.

Examples:

John was running from the bad guy. ß passive verbs, telling
John ran from the bad guy.  ß weak verb, telling

John raced from the scene.  ß stronger verb, telling

Active/Showing: The villain’s footsteps thundered across the quiet parking lot. John glanced over his shoulder…

To further increase tension the writer may revise: John glances over his shoulder, smashes (strong verb) into a parked car, and then plunges (strong verb) onto the wet pavement

(Difficult to run on wet pavement. No?) I Capitalized stronger verbs used to create tension.

1. In the example the VILLAIN introduces the thought, focuses the reader away from John for a moment. (Tension/Danger).
2. THUNDERED (Tension/Alarm) is the WAY footsteps sounded to John. The word QUIET magnifies the sound and increases tension.
3. John’s fear increases, and he GLANCES (Tension/Urgency) to verify the villain’s distance from him. (Tension/Fear).

Flaccid language is not the solution to the management of voice. Neither are petty verbs. Strong (active) verbs are the writer’s weapons to expose voice and increase tension.  Most writers today, especially the self-published ones, tend to read one genre, and then copy the style of other weak writers. The examples I showed above did not contain any “ING” verbs, and not once did the word “Had” appear. “Had” is like a flashing billboard notice – “Warning. Passive voice ahead!”

Passive voice may be identified easily. Some of the word indicators are: Had, Was, and Were. ING verbs weaken any scene and dilute conflict. An unfinished draft about the “Dangers of Passive Voice” sits on my desktop, and perhaps I may be honored to post it in this blog at a future date.

Use the thesaurus to find better verbs, better words, and integrate those words into your story.

Copyists do not often find success. To avoid “Copyism,” read outside your preferred genre.

Success comes from bright, original stories, with intense characters and powerful writing, not from the passive, uncontrolled language of amateurs. Copy not another writer. Be yourself and let your language cause you to soar above mediocrity. Be not satisfied with simplicity, but write engaging tales that flow from your keyboard with energy and passion.

Write well,

Dave

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David A. Owens is a writer and editor from Murfreesboro, TN. He has published Science Fiction, Horror, General fiction, and non-fiction. Questions or comments may be addressed to him by email: editor@netsite21.com

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Picture for today is from Calvin and Hobbes. Might be some tension there. Wonder what they are talking about? Or should I say yelling about?

May your days be good and long upon this earth. Unless you go to Mars. And then I hope you rot because I'd be a little jelly.